Wow, what a mess!
To unravel it, I think you first need to know the chain of ownership of the debt itself.
Here is what I would focus on.
First is the OC. When they brought CA1 into the picture, did they just assign collection authority to them, or did they sell the debt to them?
Are they still the owner of the debt, or was it transferred to CA1? The best way to determine this from your CR is whether the OC is still reporting a balance owed.
Regardless of whether CA1 was only assinged collection authority on behalf of the OC, or whether they actually purchased the debt, they (CA1) can report a collection to the CRA. They report a balance on their collection account of the amount of the debt. This reported balance could mean one of two things. Either it is the balance they are collecting on behalf of the OC, or it is the balance of debt that they now own. The credit reporting codes are the same, so you cant tell ownership from reporting done to their CA account. You can only infer it from the OC also reporrting a $0 balance owed to them. That means CA1 bought it.
If CA1 obtained ownership of the debt, they are fully entitiled to collect it on their own, or to assign collection activites to a CA2.
Thus, CA2 can then legitimatly report their collection activities to the CRA.
If CA1 owns the debt, their reporrting of balance reflects the debt owed to them
If CA2 is a collection agent for CA1, their reporting can reflect the same dollar amount, but is a statement, not of debt owed directly to them, but rather of the amount of the debt they are authorized to pursue collection.
That may lead to multiple CA postings to your CR on the same debt, but I see nothing improper. They are escalating reporting of failure to satisfy the debt, and thus bring with them escalating derog credit reporting.
Yes, debt, in its different forms, can be reported on multiple OC/CA postings to your credit report.
